US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday spoke with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and underscored the US’ “ironclad” solidarity with the Baltic nation in the face of pressure from China.
“It’s important for all partners in the EU, US and Indo-Pacific to work together to counter acts of coercion,” Simonyte wrote on Twitter yesterday after the call with Blinken.
Beijing has imposed a series of political and economic sanctions against Lithuania since it agreed to host the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania, which opened in Vilnius on Nov. 18.
Photo: AFP
“Secretary Blinken noted troubling public reports that People’s Republic of China (PRC) customs authorities are not clearing Lithuanian shipments or shipments with Lithuanian components, and that they are rejecting import applications from Lithuania,” a readout by US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said.
“The secretary underscored that such measures would raise serious concerns, including under international trade principles, and appear to constitute a form of economic coercion,” Price said.
“Secretary Blinken highlighted US support for Lithuania in the face of these actions and reaffirmed the US commitment to work with like-minded countries to push back against the PRC’s coercive diplomatic and economic behavior,” he said.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked Washington for demonstrating its leadership in the global alliance of democracies.
The government is convinced that the US would take concrete steps to help democratic partners counteract the political and economic coercions of authoritarian regimes, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement.
Taiwan, as a democratic success story and a force for good in the world, would continue to develop practical and friendly relations with all like-minded countries, she said.
The government would also work with the US and other democratic partners to help Lithuania tackle hybrid threats imposed by authoritarian regimes and defend democratic institutions, Ou said.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week recalled Lithuanian Charge d’affaires ad interim in China Audra Ciapiene to Vilnius for consultations, but added that its embassy in China would continue its operations remotely.
In a statement on Monday, the Lithuanian ministry said that “false information regarding Lithuania’s participation in the Beijing Winter Olympics has appeared publicly on behalf of the [Lithuanian] minister of foreign affairs. The foreign ministry considers it to be an information attack.”
On the same day, Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service wrote on Twitter that it was using uncrewed aerial vehicles donated by Taiwan to survey and bolster the EU’s eastern border with Belarus.
“We’re pleased to see the drones donated by #Taiwan to #Lithuania during the trade & investment tour of 3 #EU members in October being put to good use,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry wrote on Twitter.
In related news, 25 Lithuanian food retailers have joined the Food Taipei trade show to showcase their products.
It opened yesterday at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center and ends on Saturday.
If the COVID-19 situation allows, Lithuanian Minister for Agriculture Kestutis Navickas would lead a business delegation to visit Taiwan next year, the Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture said last week.
Additional reporting by CNA
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS